Mention People and Companies in Shares

Social networking allows us to engage with others and widely share information and resources. One of the key ways to ensure the right people see shared content is to mention them in the shared content. This is also known as tagging and @mentions. Mentioning a person or a company is a great way to get their attention, start a conversation, or give credit where it's due.

In this article, we will explore how to mention people on various social media networks, and provide tips on how to do so effectively.

Benefits of mentioning people and companies

What is a mention and why is it important? Mentions are a way to reference a specific user or account on a post or comment. This is done by using the “@” symbol, followed by the username or handle.

Mentions are extremely important in social networking because the provide the following.

• Mentions encourage content engagement by the user or account mentioned.
• Mentions increase impressions because the user and their network see the content where the mention occurred.
• Mentions are hyperlinks that, once clicked, take readers back to the mentioned profile, increasing visibility on profiles and pages.

Twitter mentions

🔹Handles are used to mention accounts on X, formerly Twitter.

Mention Twitter accounts while creating a share from EveryoneSocial to Twitter. Add a mention by using the “@” symbol followed by the username (also known as the account handle). Make sure there are no spaces between the @ symbol and the username. An example would be “I’m sharing a post from @everyonesocial” since EveryoneSocial’s username is “everyonesocial.”

Once the handle is added, finish the sharing process. The published share will have the mentioned account hyperlinked, with blue text.

You can find the account handle by visiting the profile where you will see all posts for the account. The URL contains the handle at the very end. Click here for more details on finding a Twitter account handle.

LinkedIn mentions

🔹 Only company pages can be mentioned on LinkedIn shares.

🔹 You’ll need our Support team to activate this feature. Please contact them to get this enabled.

Mention a LinkedIn company page while creating a share from EveryoneSocial to LinkedIn. Add a mention by using the “@” symbol followed by the company name. Make sure there are no spaces between the @ symbol and the company name. An example would be “I’m sharing a Tweet with @everyonesocial” since EveryoneSocial’s company name is “everyonesocial.”

A dropdown appears with a list of 10 matched companies after 3 or more characters follow the “@” symbol. Click a company to select it as a mention.

Once the mention is added, finish the sharing process. The published share will have the mentioned company page hyperlinked, with bold blue text.

🔸 TIP: Go to the company’s LinkedIn profile and copy the name of the company. Paste it into the share copy after the @ symbol to increase the chances of listing the company you want to mention.

Facebook mentions

Mention people and pages when you’re sharing to Facebook by using the “@” symbol followed by the company name in the popup modal commentary. Make sure there are no spaces between the @ symbol and the company name. An example would be “I’m sharing a Tweet with @everyonesocial” since EveryoneSocial’s company name is “everyonesocial.”

Best practices

Mentions may increase engagement and impressions, but it’s also important to remember mentions can hurt your credibility and rapport when they’re not used correctly. If misused, mentions can appear gratuitous and self-serving.

Here are some best practices to remember.

• Only mention people and accounts on relevant content, but do it whenever the opportunity arises (such as mentioning the author of a book, speaker at a webinar, business review, etc.)
• Don’t spam mention people and accounts. Keep content clean. Too many links and mentions that aren't used properly appear spammy and self-serving.
• Respond quickly to mentions made to you for accounts and profiles you manage.

Mentions are all about building connections with readers and the content you share. Use them whenever you can, but remember mentions are only as powerful as the content you share.

FAQ

Can I mention another person on LinkedIn?

Can mentions be included with suggested share copy?

Yes! Contributors, Moderators, Group Owners, and Admins can add suggested share copy and include mentions. Depending on the Workspace’s settings, the mention may be able to be edited when the person sharing content edits the commentary.

Note: Editing commentary on the mobile app will disable the mention and display it as plain text only.

Why does my Tweet get added to "Replies" in Twitter if I tag someone?

Twitter considers immediate tagging as a reply to someone since a Tweet with a tag is basically Tweeting at someone. If you want to tag someone and have your Tweet counted as a "Tweet" and not a "Reply" then you will want to write the Tweet and tag someone in the comments.

Can I include multiple mentions in share copy?

Does mentioning behave differently on Public Post Pages?

Since Public Post Pages are accessible to the general public, you may notice some differences between mentions and how they behave. Twitter mentions are identical to the steps above. As long as the correct handle is used, there will be no issues with Twitter mentions.

LinkedIn mentions are much different than what you experience in EveryoneSocial versus a Public Post Page. Public Post Pages require someone to be authenticated in order to use mentions in share copy. Anyone can access a Public Post Pages, which means you may have readers who have not authenticated yet, included current users who are simply using another device.

When someone tries to share content to LinkedIn from a Public Post Page, any mentions included as suggested share copy will work for anyone who hasn’t authenticated, as long as no edits are made to the copy. As soon as someone edits the copy, LinkedIn requires the person creating copy to be logged in to their platform in order to use mentions. We will display a note at the bottom of the copy box indicating a login is required for mentions. See image below.

Once someone logs in, they can utilize mentions the same as any user within EveryoneSocial.

Can I mention someone on a mobile app, such as Instagram, Weibo, and WeChat?

When using EveryoneSocial’s mobile app, you can mention someone in another mobile app if mentions are allowed within that app. Simply choose to share a post by tapping Apps, which opens any selected app installed on your mobile device. Once opened, complete the share and use the app’s mentions as designed. Be sure to search for and use the app’s instructions if you have questions about how to mention someone on a share.

This does not include sharing to LinkedIn and Twitter. We use an API to share to LinkedIn and Twitter and have different capabilities for sharing content on a mobile device. When you are sharing content on your mobile device from EveryoneSocial to LinkedIn or Twitter, mentions are possible only if a Contributor, Moderator, or Admin has added suggested share copy to the post. If unedited, the share will include the mention. If it is edited, the share will post the mention as plain text, without hyperlinking the account or profile in the mention.